The Williams Record

Volleyball ends regular season atop NESCAC

Last weekend, volleyball (22-4, 10-0 in the NESCAC) downed Trinity and Wesleyan both in straight sets. They finished the regular season undefeated in the conference, and earned the right to host the NESCAC tournament this weekend. This will be the first time the Ephs have hosted the tournament since 2006. The Ephs fought their way to the top this season, and if the weekend goes well, hopefully, they will stay there.

On Saturday, the Ephs found themselves in Middletown, Conn. The match against Wesleyan was at 2 p.m., the last of the regular season games for the women and the final NESCAC match. The Ephs went in with intensity and came out triumphant. The Ephs won the match in just three short sets. The women came out firing and took the first set easily by a score of 25-12. The second and third sets both finished with 25-18 victories for the Ephs. The women kept up their impressive stats for their last regular season match, going on several runs throughout each set that kept their momentum going.

Tori Jasuta ’17 led the team in kills, with 12, while captain Emily Doll ’14 was close behind with 11. Ryan Farley ’16 had 38 assists, while libero Mandy Schott ’15 had eight of the team’s 33 digs.

“This is a really exciting win for us,” Head Coach Christi Kelsey said. “We played a good consistent match. I am really proud of the team for finishing off the regular season strong, and I am excited to see what the post-season has in store for us.”

Last Friday, the women traveled to Hartford, Conn., to take on Trinity. The Ephs won the game in straight sets. They took the first set 25-18, but the Bantams gave them a closer run in the second. However, the women prevailed 25-23 and closed out the match with a dominating 25-17 third-set victory.

Both Catherine Egan ’16 and Raea Rasmussen ’15 contributed impressive kill percentages, with percentages of .529 and .600, respectively. Farley had 42 assists. Doll led the team with 12 kills, while Jasuta contributed 10. Doll and Jasuta also lead the team in digs, with 15 and 13, respectively. Egan had two solo blocks.

“I am proud of how we played tonight,” Kelsey said. “We played a good, consistent match.”

Quarterfinals for the NESCAC tournament will begin on Friday. The women come into the tournament strong: The Ephs are the No. 1 seed, and 17 of their 22 wins this season were straight 3-0 victories. In beating both Wesleyan and Amherst, the women also won the 2013 Little Three title.

The women are scheduled to play Bates, the No. 8 seed, on Friday at 5 p.m. in Chandler Gym. Trinity will play Bowdoin also at 5 p.m. At 8 p.m., Middlebury will play Amherst, and Conn. College will play Tufts. The semifinals will be held on Saturday at 1 p.m. and at 3:30 p.m., while the final is scheduled for Sunday at noon.